


You’d break your heart to make it bigger

by GeeLoved



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Freedom Fighters, Political Alliances
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:07:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24692014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeeLoved/pseuds/GeeLoved
Summary: It was a notion accepted by many that the Fire Lord of the Fire Nation needed a wife. The Fire realm had empty coffers after a long war with the Earth Kingdom, an army walking back home, unrest in the capital, and far too many war brides for the taste of fine ladies.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1: In which the Fire Lord decides to take a wife

It was a notion accepted by many that the Fire Lord of the Fire Nation needed a wife. The Fire realm had empty coffers after a long war with the Earth Kingdom, an army walking back home, unrest in the capital, and far too many war brides for the taste of fine ladies. 

Zuko, an unremarkable man in his twenties and unrepentant Fire Lord, following the (tragic) demise of his father (by patricide), knew his duties. It didn’t mean he had to like them. Finding a wife was tiresome but his advisors kept going on about not being able to pay their soldiers. He didn’t just need a wife. He needed a rich wife.

Many chieftains and kings could tell the tide of the war. How could the Fire Nation not win with the Dragon of the West leading the spear at Ba Sing Se? The first Siege might have lasted 600 days, the second didn’t hold more than 20. The tides were clear. Fire Nation would win the war and lose all their gold. And so, it was that noble blood, not just royal blood, threw their hat in the ring. The next Fire Lord’s wife would be an Empress and that was worth more than one daughter.

In the Capital, Zuko’s advisors were receiving files about the Earth Kingdom’s rich daughters. Toph BeiFong’s file looked promising. She had gold to build empires. It was why, on a morning when a brawl erupted in the streets between angry soldiers and hungry merchants, Zuko asked for ink and parchment to ask for Lady Toph’s hand.

_Dear Lady Toph,_

_I ask that you kindly accept my humble proposal. My coffers are empty after a long war, and you are rich in gold. I am honest in all things. The war broke me. But my kingdom needs gold; my soldiers need honest work and my citizens need bread. So I am in need of a rich wife. That is the truth. You would not find me cruel. Your parents have deemed our union a convenient one. Give me leave to marry you and I shall make you an Empress._


	2. Chapter 2: In which a Lady is trapped, but not by her good education

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Beifongs of Gaoling received the missive delivered by the Fire Lord’s guards with feigned indifference. The guards were fed, enjoyed hot showers, and sent back to the Fire Nation’s capital with promises of silver. The Beifongs would send a formal response in a month’s time and on their own dime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! First time posting, years in fandom and just had to share this story 💕

The Beifongs of Gaoling received the missive delivered by the Fire Lord’s guards with feigned indifference. The guards were fed, enjoyed hot showers, and sent back to the Fire Nation’s capital with promises of silver. The Beifongs would send a formal response in a month’s time and on their own dime.

In the privacy of their walls, the Beifongs celebrated months of campaigning for an audience with the Fire Lord with a dignified (in their minds) dance. Their servants would later recall seeing them smile, a very rare occurrence. Absent from the celebrations, a certain Lady Toph, 24 years of age, and self-titled bachelor.

Lady Toph, known in Gaoling circles for her quick wit and gold, also had a secret identity as the Blind Bandit. She was quick, ruthless and a bender that could rival any Dragon. It was said that she was not formally trained, that the Blind Bandit was a natural. In certain circles, it was believed that the Blind Bandit was a spirit. No one bothered to put two and two together, as how could an unwed, blind, unmarried young lady ever be the strongest bender the Earth Kingdom had ever seen? (The story doesn’t tell all the details, but the narrator wants you to know: Lady Toph’s parents and teachers are still learning their lesson. Small can be mighty.)

What never made it out of her parent’s house was her schemes to live a life unbothered by a man. Or as Lady Poppy would have it “Lady Toph didn’t mind being an embarrassment to her name and breeding and education.”

On the week her parents received the seal of the Fire Lord, Lady Toph ignored it. This was not the first royal offer she received (who could forget the Bumi incident a few seasons ago?) and she had dealt with all of them ruthlessly. Fire Lord or no, she would make her parents see reason. She had tournaments to win as the Blind Bandit, and business to take care of in the streets – she had time and the element of surprise. Or so she thought.

What the story doesn’t say is: While Toph was busy righting some wrongs in Gaoling, the spirits conspired. They visited Lord Lao’s slumber and told him how his daughter had ruined his various efforts at matchmaking. How he could have been the father of a Queen twice already. How if he wanted an Empire, he must use ruse and metal.

His wife having never heard him say anything at breakfast in their 30 years of marriage was very confused when while drinking tea, Lao said, “Your daughter has made a joke of me for the last time,” before going back to his order of business.

That is how, when two brutes woke Lady Toph in her parents’ house, she went limp. Assessed. Bid her time. Earth bending was about waiting. What she never expected was Lord Lao on the other side of the door. With metal.

“You have ridiculed the Beifong name for the last time. You will marry the Fire Lord. You will obey your new family. You will honor us. If you do not, I will make your mother suffer.”

A reader might think, this is when Toph shows her parents what she is capable of. This is when she says, I am a powerful bender, I honor you with my presence. But dear reader, this is not that story.

Lady Toph stumbles. The brutes trap her into a metal cage. She feels her mother’s steps through her bending and realizes this is her goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In chapter 3, we meet some members of the Southern Water Tribe! I really value feedback and comments so please feel free to drop a note!


	3. Chapter 3: In which a caravan is intercepted, and alliances are made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fire Lord Zuko was expecting a caravan. And thus, spies were dispatched from all nations. The Dai Li’s reach was far and wide, and a generous patron helping the Fire Lord wasn’t in their plans. The Phoenix Loyalists needed to intercept any transfer of gold into the capital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and giving this AU a chance 🍀

Fire Lord Zuko was expecting a caravan. And thus, spies were dispatched from all nations. The Dai Li’s reach was far and wide, a generous patron helping the Fire Lord wasn’t in their plans. The Phoenix Loyalists needed to intercept any transfer of gold into the capital. A hungry capital was fertile for unrest, political scheming, and an assassination attempt. Zuko’s reign was still in its infancy and the dissidents needed him disposed of before the Dragon of the West marched back home. A dragon with two heads would be impossible to maneuver. The Air Benders were long gone, and the Water Tribes were easy to forget. Nobody ever expected the Freedom Fighters. 

On a road, two siblings lie in wait. Trained since birth, they have a mission. Prevent the Fire Nation from gaining more power. The war has raged on for decades. The Phoenix King might be dead, but his son’s rise to power is suspicious. There is a mysterious royal daughter, Azula, hidden, she is said to be just and kind. The Freedom Fighters last stand lies with her, or so it is believed.

Sokka’s spies mentioned gold, a wealthy patron, a promised heiress. And so, they wait on a road to intercept a caravan.

Sokka and Katara are survivors of the Southern Water Tribe Purge. Their tribe is small. Has been for years after frequent raids. And yet, they remain. Sokka, the oldest, only surviving man of the tribe, is a strategist. He is often forgotten in tales, as he does not bend. The stories would tell you he is comic relief. What the stories won’t mention is that he has been leading attacks on the Fire Nation factions since he was twelve. He raised the daughter of his tribe as warriors. He remembers what he was wearing when the raiders took his mother. Katara is his ace, sister, blood of his blood. A powerful bender trained by Hama, a fragile, confused, Fire Nation escapee. Hama’s bending is dark, forbidden.

Katara is the last bender of the Southern Water Tribe. She bends blood, and if rumors have it right, she is part spirit, part Painted Lady. There are more words to describe her than the narrator could hope to. She is good, and yet she is a knife. Many have tried to capture her, many more have tried to kill her, and higher yet still, the number of proposals she has received. Of a sort, she is a princess. And of a sort, she is the symbol of the resistance. The Phoenix King has tried, again and again, to destroy her rebellion. She was his captive once. But that is another tale.

She is the symbol, the instrument, Sokka is the tactician. In the stories, they talk of unbreakable bond between siblings born out of need. They don’t talk about the pain, the sleepless nights, the fear. The hunger. The way their eyes shine in the dark before taking out the caravan’s armed guards.

So we are back to the caravan. Sokka and Katara have a mission. The brutes hired by Lao Beifong are no match against a blood bender and her brother. They are disposed of quickly. What was supposed to be a caravan full of gold and promise of a royal union is in fact a cage of metal with a bound blind lady. In a few moves, Katara unbinds the foreigner. Their intelligence had no inkling of this. In the back of his mind, Sokka knows that all information from the White Lotus is now under suspicion.

A lady of her time, Toph quips “Who talks first? You talk first? I talk first. I’m a bender and so is one of you. I wish you no harm and I have gold.”

Sokka has been in many raids, missions, and battles. He does not, does not, soften.

“I’m Lady Toph Beifong. Daughter of Poppy and Lao. Heiress. Until recently, I was a commodity to my parents. My father has sold me to the Fire Nation. I am to be obedient to my foreign husband or he would hurt my mother. I was abducted by Lao’s cronies 4 days ago. I no longer recognize Lao Beifong as my father.” Her voice is steady and strong. Once the metal is out of the way, Toph Beifong is a force. She knows this, even though they might not. She is met with silence.

Sokka is plotting. Katara is trying to hide the disappointment she feels. Their mission is simple and clear. Stay alive another day. Stay alive for the next mission. But she is tired. She is tired and she longs for rest. They have been on the road for years. They have stopped looking for the Avatar years ago when Yu died. Hope tasted too bitter after that. The caravan full of gold could have helped the Freedom Fighters’ war efforts more than she cares to admit.

“If it’s gold you want, I’ll give it to you after a fashion. You saved me from a fate worst than death. Marriage” Lady Toph is not a mind reader, but her bending gives her countless tricks.

“Would you join our fight against tyranny? I am Chief Sokka, from the Southern Water Tribe. I stand against the Unification of our world by the Usurper Fire Lord,” Sokka has many allies, from across the world. He will always need more.

The Fire Nation is set to win against the Earth Kingdom in a few months, every soldier knows this. Yes, the Phoenix King is dead. The tide of the war is such that everyone fears what a successful campaign will do the world. A few good men and women are joining the Freedom Fighters. But not enough.

“I have been content being an heiress. I can no longer accept to see this war without joining. I will join the fight. But I must give my compliments to Lao Beifong first.” Katara does not care for what it means. But she knows the cost of betrayal is heavy in war times.

“I have heard of you, Katara and Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe. They say you are ghosts. They tell your stories in arenas. They say you eat Fire Nation children. They also say a Painted Lady heals. I would give you my help. I have gold and my seal is worth something in some circles. My name is moot to me now, do as you must. I leave you this caravan. May you use it as you see fit.

I need to clean house. If we meet again, may we meet as allies.” Lady Toph disappears. Katara hasn’t spoken one word. Stunned. They say she lost her tongue, in a raid. None know if it is true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: In which a Fire Lord meets a princess, not an heiress
> 
> … White Lotus? Is that you…


End file.
